Lay gave Bush list of favored names

WASHINGTON -- Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, a friend and backer of President Bush, gave the White House recommendations for appointment to a federal energy commission last spring. Bush eventually appointed two of the people on Enron's list.

Lay gave the list of names to Clay Johnson, Bush's personnel director, White House spokeswoman Anne Womack said Thursday. Among the eight or so names were Pat Wood, now chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Nora Brownell, a member of the commission.

"It was one of many, many recommendations that he (Johnson) received" from industry executives, members of Congress and state officials, Womack said.

Disclosure of Lay's recommendations to the White House come as congressional panels investigate the relationship between Enron Corp. and the Bush administration. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the company's complex accounting and the role played by its auditor, Arthur Andersen, which has acknowledged destroying Enron-related documents.

As head of a major campaign donor wielding significant influence in Washington, Lay enjoyed access to top government officials of both parties. The White House has acknowledged that Lay met once privately last year with Vice President Dick Cheney, who headed a task force that formulated the administration's national energy policy.

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